We’ve all seen it- that person with their nose in their phone sitting in a restaurant, walking down the street, or causing a traffic jam at the grocery store. What many people see as a sign of rudeness by the mobile-first millennials is actually a sign of our complete dependence on our phones to live our everyday lives. The fact of the matter is that we simply cannot try a new sushi place, buy a new stereo system, or keep in touch with friends without our phones.
In “Millennials: Technology = Social Connection” Nielson revealed that when asked what makes their generation unique, 24% of millennials said technology use. This was way ahead the next category in which 11% of millennials answered music and pop culture. Not surprisingly, 74% of millennials believe that technology makes their lives easier. You can read more about millennials and social media use in Mobile Millennials: The Need to Be Social
Think about the ways you use your phone each day. Mobile use is so ingrained in how we live our lives, that we may not realize just how much we rely on them. I’ll use myself as an example. Within the first three hours of my day, I used my smartphone to display my train ticket, read through new emails, check my bank account balance, look at the weather for the upcoming weekend, and view new deals on Gilt City. Without my phone, how would I know to head to the beach Saturday or get a deal on a cheese making class? It’s time to look at constant mobile use as an opportunity, not a nuisance.
If you look in the iTunes or Google Play stores, you can find an app to help with almost anything in your life – Yelp to read reviews on restaurants and bars. Pandora to stream music, Seamless to order take out, Hopstop for directions, Uber for travel, and the list goes on. There are tons of personal finance apps out there to manage your budget – Mint, Level, BillGuard – just to name a few. But what about using part of your budget to invest?
We do everything else from our phones, why not invest that way too? After living through the economic crisis of 2007, millennials recognize the importance of saving, hence the prevalence of personal finance apps. Many of them, however, remain wary of investing – they don’t want to make the same mistakes their parents did. We offer millennials a way to become comfortable, confident investors through their mobile phones.
Our app is available in IOS format in the iTunes store this month. The app allows you to build a free practice portfolio and peruse free educational content so you can become more familiar with investing and develop your own strategy. Once you feel ready to start investing, you can invest in a range of ETFs, stocks, and ADRs. Managing your portfolio can now be one of the many things you do with your mobile device. Now our app is available in HTML 5 format and in the Google Play store for use on Android phones
By Nicole Dugan
Invest with a purpose. You. Invest in your goals while getting help every step of the way -> http://idrivewealth.com
